Computer-implemented method for creating measurement data describing a railway network or a vehicle travelling on a track

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for creating measurement data describing a railway network or a vehicle travelling on a track. Measurement values are detected by a sensor situated on the vehicle or on the track. A sensor processor in communication with the sensor requests a time value describing a time point and/or a position value describing a position and/or a measurement sample from a processor situated on the vehicle. The time value, the position value, and/or the measurement sample are transmitted from the processor to the sensor processor. The sensor processor assigns a measurement value to the time value, the position value, or the measurement sample, such that the time value, the position value, and/or the measurement sample describe a measurement time point or measurement position, and measurement data comprising the measurement value and the time value and/or the position value and/or the measurement sample are stored in a database.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method of generating measurement data describing a railway network or a vehicle travelling on a track, comprising:
 determining measurement values using a sensor arranged on the vehicle or on the track;   requesting, from a computation unit arranged on the vehicle by a sensor computation unit in communication with the sensor, at least one of:
 a time value describing a time t, 
 a position value describing a position, and 
 a measurement pattern, 
   transmitting, to the sensor computation unit from the computation unit, the at least one of the time value, the position value, and the measurement pattern;   assigning, by the sensor computation unit, a measurement value to the at least one of the time value, the position value, and the measurement pattern, the at least one of the time value, the position value, and the measurement pattern describing one of a measurement time and a measurement position; and   storing, in a database, measurement data including the measurement value and the at least one of the time value, the position value, and the measurement pattern.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the time value is generated according to a network protocol. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the network protocol is one of NTP, PTP, and a specified format. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the measurement data includes a unified time format. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the position value is at least one of relative position information, absolute position information, and position information established based on applicable standards in the railway network. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the measurement pattern includes information on a determination of measurement values per timespan. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the time value is matched with a reference time value at the time t; and   a time difference between the time value and the reference time value is minimized by a change in time increments of the time value following the time t made within a matching timespan.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the change in time increments is one of linear and following a mathematical function. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 a sensor ID is read from the sensor by the sensor computation unit; and   the sensor ID is transmitted to the computation unit.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising at least one of:
 generating improved measurement values out of first measurement values and second measurement values, the improved measurement values being determined by one of:
 an average of the first measurement values and the second measurement values; and 
 interpolation of the first measurement values and the second measurement values; and 
   generating improved measurement data out of:
 first measurement data including first measurement values generated by a first sensor at a time specified by a unified time format, and 
 second measurement data including second measurement values generated by a second sensor at the time specified by the unified time format; 
   wherein the improved measurement data is determined by one of:
 an average of the first measurement data and the second measurement data; and 
 interpolation of the first measurement data and the second measurement data. 
   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising matching the measurement data with reference measurement data, the reference measurement data describing a reference object, and the measurement data being assigned to the reference object while determining a similarity measure.